5 Key Takeaways
- Japan now has 107,677 centenarians, a 56th consecutive annual rise, with women making up almost 88% of the total.
- Japan is one of the world’s fastest-ageing societies, with nearly 30% of residents aged 65 or older and the population projected to fall from about 128 million in 2008 to 87 million by 2070.
- Longevity is driven by factors such as diet, active daily routines, and universal healthcare, but it is occurring alongside a record-low fertility rate of 1.14 in 2025.
- The ageing population strains pensions, healthcare, social care, public finances, and labour supply, with rural areas hit especially hard and immigration remaining politically contentious.
- Japan’s experience offers a warning for other ageing countries, showing that demographic decline requires broad policy responses around family support, immigration, rural services, and financing care for older people.
Japan Records More Than 100,000 Centenarians as Demographic Pressures Mount
September 19, 2026
Japan has crossed a striking demographic threshold: the country is now home to more than 100,000 people aged 100 or older. The exact figure reached 107,677 this year, according to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. That represents an increase of 7,914 centenarians compared with 2025 and the 56th consecutive annual rise. Women make up almost 88 percent of the total. The milestone is being celebrated as a triumph of health and longevity, but it also highlights the pressures building inside one of the world’s fastest-ageing societies.
Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno said he was “very pleased that many people are living long, healthy and active lives.” He pointed to advances in medical technology, healthy lifestyles, and healthy diets as reasons. Yet behind the celebration lies a profound imbalance. Japan’s elderly population keeps growing while the number of births remains at an all-time low. A shrinking workforce is left to manage mounting pension, healthcare, and social care costs.
How rapidly is Japan ageing?
Japan has one of the world’s oldest populations. Almost three in every 10 residents are now aged 65 or older, and that proportion is projected to approach 40 percent by 2070. The scale of the shift becomes clearer when comparing the oldest and youngest age groups. Last year, more than 800,000 people in Japan were aged 95 or above, while only 700,000 babies were born. Those numbers make the country’s population decline difficult to reverse quickly.
The decline is already spreading across most of the country. Preliminary census figures show that the population was lower in 45 of Japan’s 47 prefectures in 2025 than five years earlier. Only Tokyo and Okinawa recorded increases. Japan’s population peaked at about 128 million in 2008. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research projects that it will fall to 87 million by 2070, a decline of roughly 30 percent.
Why are so many over-100s in Japan?
There is no single explanation for why so many Japanese people live past 100, but researchers point to a combination of diet, activity, and healthcare. The traditional Japanese diet tends to contain large amounts of fish, vegetables, and rice, with comparatively low levels of saturated fat. Obesity rates are also significantly lower than in many Western countries. These dietary patterns are often part of daily life rather than short-term changes.
Daily routines may play a role as well. Many people in Japan walk, cycle, and use public transport regularly, including older people, and group exercise is widely practised. Toshisuke Kanazawa, a 90-year-old bodybuilder, was photographed training in his gym in Hiroshima on September 11, 2026, as one visible example of active ageing. Access to healthcare adds another layer. Japan’s universal health insurance system provides broad access to treatment and medicines at relatively low cost compared with countries such as the United States.
Why is longevity a problem for Japan?
Living longer is an achievement, but in Japan it is occurring alongside one of the world’s lowest birth rates. The country’s total fertility rate—the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime—fell to a record low of 1.14 in 2025. A rate of about 2.1 is generally considered necessary to maintain a stable population without requiring immigration to bolster working-age numbers. As Japan’s fertility rate remains far below that level, the imbalance between older and younger people widens.
An ageing population means more people of pension age, who may require higher levels of social care and medical intervention, are supported by fewer working-age people. Over time, this becomes a major economic problem. Japan has introduced child allowances, subsidised childcare, parental leave programmes, and other incentives intended to encourage couples to have children. None has yet reversed the long-term decline.
The reasons behind the low birth rate are not simply economic. Social scientists say fewer Japanese people are marrying, or they are marrying later when they are less likely to be able to have children. Many younger adults are worried about insecure employment, stagnant wages, and demanding working hours, which makes having a family harder. Women’s increased participation in the workforce has not always been matched by an equal sharing of childcare and household responsibilities. That gap makes parenthood particularly difficult to combine with a career for women.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has identified population decline and the falling birthrate as major national challenges. Japanese officials have repeatedly warned that the trend threatens the country’s economic and social foundations. The centenarian milestone is therefore not only a demographic statistic; it is also a signal of the pressures facing public services and families.
What does this mean for Japan’s economy?
A shrinking working-age population means fewer people paying income taxes and social-security contributions. At the same time, spending on pensions, healthcare, and elderly care rises in tandem. That imbalance places mounting pressure on public finances and on the younger workers supporting the system through taxes. It is one reason Japan’s policymakers are searching for ways to raise productivity and encourage workforce participation.
Labour shortages are already affecting industries ranging from construction and agriculture to transport, healthcare, and social care. Rural areas face a particularly severe challenge because younger residents continue to move to cities. That leaves ageing communities with fewer workers and declining public services. The gap between urban and rural Japan is widening along with the age gap.
Immigration can help to offset labour shortages, and Japan’s foreign population has risen in recent years. Foreign nationals still account for only about 3 percent of the population, however. Proposals to accept substantially more migrants remain politically contentious in a country that has historically maintained restrictive immigration policies. This leaves Japan with few quick fixes.
Are other countries also growing older?
Longer life expectancy is one of humanity’s greatest achievements all around the globe. The World Health Organization said: “Advances in social and economic development as well as in health have lowered mortality rates, particularly among older people.” The WHO added: “Most people can now expect to live into their 60s and beyond.”
Global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2024, an increase of 8.4 years since 1995. The number of people aged 60 or older is projected to rise from 1.1 billion in 2023 to 1.4 billion by 2030. But the transition is considerably more advanced in some countries than in others. A country’s median age is the midpoint of its population: half of all residents are older and half are younger.
The latest historical estimates in the United Nations’ World Population Prospects put Japan’s median age at 49 in 2023. Among other countries, Italy followed with a median age of 47.5. Portugal’s stood at 46.2, Greece’s at 45.7, and Germany’s at 45.1. Japan is therefore not alone in growing older, but it is further along the demographic curve than almost anyone else.
What happens next?
Japan’s centenarian count has now increased for 56 consecutive years, and there is little sign that the broader demographic trajectory will reverse soon. The country’s low birth rate, ageing population, and labour shortages are linked problems that cannot be solved by health policy alone. Decisions about family support, immigration, rural services, and the financing of pensions and healthcare will shape how Japan adapts.
For the rest of the world, Japan’s experience is a useful window into the future. Many countries are growing older, though few are as far along the demographic curve. The record 107,677 centenarians are a reminder that long life is possible, but they also raise a difficult question: how should societies organise themselves when more people live to 100 and fewer people are born to support them?
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